Rolling on the Rivers

It is a tale of two quarterbacks.

The MVP

Both come from kinda sort of similar paths to their respective positions; Philip Rivers was drafted by the Giants and traded to the Chargers for Eli Manning in a whirlwind trade in 2004, where he sat and then replaced incumbent and injured Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers was taken late in ’05 where he sat and then replaced incumbent Brett Favre after he retired and unretired until everyone was tired.

The differences came quickly. Rivers rapid ascension put the Bolts on a path to the playoffs and they have been in the hunt every year. However, Rivers has never been able to deliver the Big One when needed. San Diego has to be considered one of the most disappointing teams of the ‘00’s with their inability to take a talent laden team to the top. Even with Antonio Gates, LaDanian Tomlinson and a host of other high flying weapons the Chargers have fallen vastly short of the mark, while the guy Rivers replaced became reborn on the Bayou where Brees led the previously inconspicuous Saints to the Promised Land.

Rodgers needs no such send up here; if you don’t know of his accomplishment you’re either from Mars or are a Vikings fan trolling Packer sites.

Bolts QB Philip Rivers

Rivers has the big arm and a big game and can talk trash with the best of them. But his rocket launcher of a right arm has been misfiring at an alarming rate this year. Against the Packers he tossed 4 TD’s against 3 INT’s… that is unless you count the two – not one but TWO – picks that Packers Charlie Peprah and Tramon Williams took to the house. In fact, had Peprah not been so gassed at the end of the game it would have been 3 pick 6’s, an embarrassing stat for a rookie let alone a polished vet.

Rivers looked like his All Star self to start the game, picking the Pack’s D apart with tight tosses and balancing it with a smooth running game as he marched San Diego in to open a Charger lead. At this point anyone in front of or behind the green and gold had to be wondering “Is this it? Is THIS the game that….”

Nope.

CB Sam Shields

Not as long as one A. Rodgers continues to find a phone booth and emerge. Blathering on about Rodgers is like showing off your new Rolls Royce. Enough superlatives have been written about Rodgers at this point, both as a player and as a man that to do any more would redundant. Heretofore we shall simply refer to Mr. Rodgers by a name that suits him best: The MVP.

The MVP comes right out and plays a little game of anything you can do, I can do better. This type of approach puts an inordinate amount of pressure on pother teams, their coaches, and especially their QB’s. The Packers and the MVP are forcing every team into a game they cannot win – See If YOU Can Match This. It is a sports version of a Vegas casino. The house ALWAYS has the edge, and no matter how good you are, how well you play, the house will get you every single time. Eventually, the house wins because the house has the edge.

The 3 Amigos - Jennings, Driver, Nelson

In Green Bay the edge is not only the MVP but his running mates. Just how exactly is a teams supposed to prepare to stop the Packers these days? Who exactly do you want to try to take away? Greg Jennings? Jordy Nelson? James Jones? Jermichael Finley? Donald Driver? And what if you mistakenly double someone – who is there to bottle up emerging RB James Starks? With his study time and ability to check off plays at the liner the MVP can slice and dissect almost any type of D thrown at him. A sack here, a sack there is no sweat. It’s just a few more yards to make up. And when a team guesses wrong the MVP makes them pay dearly for it.




Antonio Gates grabs one

 

Playing against Rivers and San Diego is so much simpler. Double Antonio Gates and take away the outside receivers and force Rivers to beat you. Of course, it doesn’t help when Sam Shields gets turned around leaving a wide open Vincent Jackson over the middle or when gambling S Morgan Burnett bites on a play action or prematurely abandons over the top deep help to stuff a fake run. It’s the gamble a gambling team makes, and sometimes pays for.

But this is a completely different Philip Rivers this year. He has been off target, inconsistent, and has thrown more picks than any other time in his career. The whispers are that he is not 100%, he has lost some arm strength, he is nursing a shoulder injury but won’t come out, he’s in a funk. There are all sorts of theories as to what is ailing him but the simple fact is Rivers no longer delivers a ball as he once did.

The ball leaves his hand just fine. But watch closely, especially on his out throws. Somewhere in midflight the ball does a sudden imitation of a Billy Kilmer knuckleball and begins to float and wobble. 3 picks for Rivers on the worst Sunday of his career? It could have been 6. Whatever is happening to Rivers is as hard to fathom as learning the Chinese language.

Clay doing what Clay does

The Packers defense this has been much maligned, especially against the pass. Yes – the Packers D is ranked 31^st in the league overall. But that stat does not tell the whole story. The Packers are middle of the Pack when it comes to sacks. Currently they are ranked 16^th in sacks, a somewhat average figure especially considering Clay Matthews III. But even a fourth year doofus knows enough to double team a guy who sometimes needs to be triple teamed. Overall Matthews’ sacks are down, but he is still as disruptive a force as exists in football.

There is one glaring omission when considering the Packers defense as a whole, and that’s the offense itself. The Pack’s offense is so proficient at registering points that they are forcing teams into a different game altogether. Witness San Diego. Rivers scores on the opening drive? Big deal. Here comes the MVP and crams it right back in the face of Rivers and the Chargers. And the gauntlet of challenge is summarily dropped. The Packers make score look so damned easy that the sense of dread and “Uh, oh, here we go” is palpable. Other teams take the bait and shoot themselves in the foot trying to keep up.

They simply cannot match the Packers point for point, player for player. Not this year. And now when an MVP is having not just his finest year as a pro, he is on a path to one of the greatest seasons in the history of the game, the other teams QB feels that heat and tries to if not outdo him, at least try to match him. It has proven to be a futile exercise this year. Teams are forced altogether in giving up on running the ball, eating the clock and keeping the MVP off the field. But watching him something takes over and the opponent’s game plan gets blown to hell. Rivers comes out winging and forgets a couple things the stat sheet says.



Hang on to the rock! Randall Cobb
retuning a kick



While Packers rank at or near the bottom of the entire league in overall defense and in pass defense, they are also currently 1^st in INT’s with 19, and they also sport a 3^rd best turnover ratio of + 11 (+1.4%/game). When rookie Randall Cobb stops muffing punts and kickoffs that ratio will only go up. The Packers play a ball hawking type of D and give up yards. They also not only give up points, they put them up as well. Even when Rivers appeared to bring San Diego back from the brink out emerges the MVP to stomp his foot down with authority. At the end, James Starks showed his completeness as a back by pounding the ball inside to keep the clock and the Packers and the chains moving. Starks is becoming the big back with breakaway speed and strength that make the Packers offense a full range arsenal. The great teams do two very distinct things – they score at the end of a half and they move the chains, control the clock and pick up first downs late with a lead. Two checks appear on the Packers list for these feats.

The cumulative effect of a high scoring offense coupled with a ball hunting D can break most QB’s. The NFL has only seen a half season, and bad QB’s look bad, and so do the good ones. Even All Stars like Philip Rivers.

There Are No Words

Cover Boys!!

Cover Boys! The Pack Attack

All aboard! Time for everybody to jump on the bandwagon.

The Green Bay Packers are back, fresh off a bye week, and oh, how the NFL and mainstream media have missed their newest bestest buddies. The Packers vaunted passing attack, led by MVP to be named Aaron Rodgers surrounded by the best receiving corps in the NFL grace the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated.

Coupled with SI’s gushing are the media pundits that are declaring that this Packers team can – not could can – go 19 – 0 this year.

Whoa.

Time for everyone to step back and take a good look at the calendar. As Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy have been saying “It’s way too early to say that.”

We concur.

Oh, we have no doubts whatsoever about the Pack’s talent level of commitment to each other and to excellence. But we have also ridden more than one pony in the rodeo and know how the ball can take a funny bounce once the snow starts flying in Lambeau. It is way too early in the season to start making such lofty claims. And we trust that McCarthy knows what’s best for his team, and that the team itself is a well-grounded group that knows it too.

Gratuitous Cheesecake for the male Cheeseheads

One thing that has been welcomely missing from the Packers is any whining or selfish “Hey what about me”? self-indulgence. James Jones and Jermichael Finley had small moments and both have found themselves on the business end of another Rodgers TD toss.

The Packers may well not have a receiver come anywhere near leading the league in receptions, yards, or TD’s as individuals. But they most certainly will find themselves there at season’s end collectively at this pace. Rodgers has been the hottest thing since Kim Kardashian in a thong on a Malibu beach and shows no signs of letting up. His relaxed, northern Cali cool persona along with his rifle of a right arm have kept the Pack on course and in check. With such stalwart veterans as Greg Jennings and Donald Driver on board, any one of the other pass catchers has some level of accountability and Driver, who is now clearly on the back side of a tremendous career as a Packer, has as much to give by way of mentoring and monitoring as he does on his patented crossing grabs. Who in his right mind would get in Donald’s grill at this point? Respect is a word better associated with this years Packers than any that comes to mind.



That respect becomes outright fear in the Pack’s opponents. San  Diego is the next stop, and the Chargers are reeling. After blowing 2 consecutive games in the last 2 minutes and losing to the Jets and then Kansas City in overtime there is a lot of noise coming out of SoCal. Noise about righting the ship, and getting back on track, and needing to play a great game against a great team in the Packers.

Yeah. And Custer told his troops don’t worry, they’re only savages, there’s 200 of us…

The Chargers are in serious trouble. KC is actually ahead of them although they have the same 4 – 3 record. If ever there was a game for the Packers to fear, it is this one. The Chargers are desperate for a win, but with every mounting loss they look more and more vulnerable and exposed. How San Diego can remain so consistently inconsistent is the big question for Norv Turner.

Teams are now routinely double and triple covering TE Antonio Gates, and taking away QB Philip Rivers favorite target has shown San Diego wanting in any type of passing game. Against KC not only was Gates neutralized but Rivers looked tentative, his throws fluttered and he missed badly on the numerous out routes the Chargers tried to run. The Chargers miscues and total inability to execute a two minute drill has left more red faces than a summer sun in San Diego.

Now they get a crack at the best team in football, and they are saying all the right things. One thing that has helped the Pack the most during this bye week is the opportunity for the injured and ailing to heal. S Morgan Burnett may be out of the club that encased his broken hand, LB Frank Zombo and CB Sam Shields are both ready to go, DE Mike Neal’s appearance is eminent and CB Charles Woodson is off the injury list for the first time since anyone can remember. Rookie RB Alex Green has been IR’d with a knee injury and in steps Brandon Saine, another rookie RB who shined during pre-season off the conveyor belt.

James Starks is emerging as the #1 back now and Ryan Grant’s steady performance has given Rodgers a wealth of talent around him. That the Packers are this loaded, this deep, this talented and this young is the envy of every team in the NFL. While others continue to make mortgage and future killing deals out of desperation (hello, Oakland? Hello, Philadelphia??) The Packers and Ted Thompson's draft and develop and reward your own before rewarding someone else’s has become a blue print for success, not only in the here and now but in the long haul. These Packers are built to win, and built to last.

As for San Diego it is almost of little relevance any more who Rodgers faces. Rodgers clearly is not facing San Diego’s defense; rather San Diego’s defense has to face Rodgers.

Roll Rodgers' numbers just a little bit – 7 games, over 2,000 yards, 20 TD’s, 3 INT’s, a QB rating of 125.6 and it looks as if the numbers are just not possible. With a straight face and with all sincerity Rodgers will tell you yes, he CAN get better.

If he does it is a collective migraine for the rest of the Packers schedule. As for San Diego call it desperation meets rested, tested, and ready. On both sides of the ball the advantage tips towards Green Bay. Rodgers lights it up (again) and the D will rise to the occasion and not only get to Rivers but get under his skin as he forces too may throws into areas he shouldn’t. The Chargers and Packers are going in two opposite directions and will continue that pattern.

Sorry General Custer… this one is going to hurt.

   GREEN BAY 37 

San Diego  17 

RANDOM THOUGHTS

It's a great day to be Greg Jennings

It’s a bye week and the Packers take a perfect 7 – 0 record in. The Pack also is widely regarded as the best in the biz right now. It is good to be a Cheesehead. As Greg Jennings once so famously said “It’s a great day to be great”. With that, we offer up some random thoughts after Week 8 in the NFL.

Don’t look now but the Steelers have very quietly righted their ship after getting smoked by the Ravens on opening day. Is that a Pittsburgh offense looking all vertical and things now?

My, how the mighty have fallen. The Ravens have a world calls defense. Then they dismantled the hated Steelers in the first game and had a hangover against the pedestrian Titans. Then they look tough. And then against Jacksonville the Raven offense gained a whopping 16 yards in the FIRST HALF on a Monday night, followed up by another lethargic performance against the Cards, having to rally from down 24 – 3. Ray Lewis can dance till he gets a spot on “Dancing with the Stars” but that isn’t going to cure what ails Baltimore.

And Da Bears have crept back into the hunt. If the Lions continue free falling the Bears just might sneak in the back door.

Coach of the Year Mike McCarthy

The Lions are imploding. Just as predicted the team is following their coach’s meltdown after the San Fran game when Jim Schwartz had his big feelings hurt by 49er coach Jim Harbaugh’s dismissive snub. Coach Schwartz? Grow a set, shaddup and lead. Vince never woulda done that. Neither would Mike McCarthy.

Speaking of the Packers erstwhile Head Honcho why is Mike McCarthy’s name NOT being bandied about as Coach of the Year candidate?? Winning as he did last year and following it up should be more than enough reason to have the man out front of the team be the man out front of the voting.

Coach of the Year voters love underdogs. But if Jims Schwartz or Harbaugh get the nod we will pull out what’s left of our hair. The job done by Mike McCarthy, Chan Gailey in Buffalo and Marvin Lewis in Cincy are nothing short of the best coaching jobs of the year.

Things are looking very peachy in the Queen city of Cincinnati these days. A rookie QB and #1 WR pick in Andy Dalton and A.J. Green and then they fleece the Raiders for not one but TWO potential first round picks for a guy not even on your playing roster??? Whoever pulled that deal off gets Executive of the Year period. No contest. And the Bengals now have the tools to build a real deep team for the long haul. With a top 5 defense they could be the next big deal in the AFC.

COACH ALERT: We are still maintaining that the driver of the Kansas City welcome wagon Todd Hailey has a hot seat but he’ll have to move over. Tony Sporano in Miami and Steve Spagnola in St. Louis are right there with him. In Miami the chant has begun that goes “Suck for Luck”. And not the kind of luck to actually win a game but Andrew Luck, the top rated QB prospect and consensus #1 pick out of Stanford, whose stock is soaring.

The Eagles had a great game against the Cowboys and looked pretty tough in the process. In a related story a tree fell in a forest while at that very moment a blind squirrel found a nut. And it was snowing. In Philly. In October.

Dallas? No hope. Not till they address the gaping hole they have at GM, and THAT just ain’t gonna happen kids.

MVP

Aaron Rodgers is playing with not just a chip but a lumber yard on his shoulder. Frankly, we couldn’t blame him at all if he called every D 1 team that passed him by, the other 23 NFL that passed him over, the fans who did not take kindly to his very presence during the last run of a certain legend, and that certain Hall of Fame Legend in a conference call and just said “HOW DO YA LIKE ME NOW??!?!??!??!” But that’s just not Aaron’s style, which is why he had that “It” factor this year. Women love him, kids idolize him, and men want to be him. It’s good to be Aaron these days.

Rubbing our crystal ball we see an MVP trophy waiting for Aaron at the end of the year.

Parity, shmarity. There are more stinko teams this year than any time in recent memory. At week 8 there are no less than 9 teams with 2 wins or less, and the Dolphins and Colts have yet to post a win. Flip the league over and there are 11 teams with 5 or more wins. The only team to have lived up to its preseason billing is the Packers. While there are the usual pretenders the contenders will be winnowed down in short order. Green Bay is there.

Jason Garrett, unable to walk on water
in Big D

The list of really, really annoying teams in their inconsistencies is growing larger every day. These are the teams you just can’t figure out no matter how hard you try. Take the Giants. Ugh. They lead the NFC East by default but couldn’t beat the Seahawks? Or their neighbors the Jets. If only a team could win on the mouth of it’s coach. Or the Ravens. Just when we were ready to announce their arrival… well… Or the maddeningly inconsistent San Diego Chargers. Exactly how much talent do you need to run a 2:00 minute drill??? The Eagles? Great team on paper. Never shows up on the field, except after a bye week. Same with the Cowboys. Add Red Jesus, Head Coach Jason Garrett to the list on the Coach Watch. Jerry’s axe will fall on everyone except the principle responsible for Dallas’s bloated mess of a team. That’s Jerry Jones. In Washington it’s all smoke and mirrors until they get a QB. Hey Coach Shanahan… the guy you gassed is gonna be available soon, Jason Campbell. He’s got to be better than Rex Grossman (and, yes – he IS better). The sound you heard was Al Davis rolling over in his grave when the Raiders dealt a 1^st and a 1^st or 2^nd round pick to the Bengals for disgruntled QB Carson Palmer. Davis never would have pulled that deal off. And Palmer starts with 3 picks in a shutout loss. Think Al would have had a few asses for lunch after that game?  We certainly do. And how can the cardinals be so bad, especially after dealing a second round pick and a CB for Kevin Kolb? Are the Colts that God awful without just ONE player? If they are then look for a repeat of the Brett Favre mess in Indy in the next couple years.



TEBOW!!!!! Capable of beating the Dolphins...but not much else



The Dolphins are responsible for fueling Tebowmania. Look, we love the kid as a man and everything he does. We want our daughter’s to marry him. We want to see him do well. But watching his performance against the Lions was pitiful and painful. John Elway has to feel very uncomfortable with what he knows he’s going to have to do. Tebow? More like Te-no.

We genuinely feel bad about what’s happened to Jahvid Best and Jerome Harrison of the Lions. Harrison was found to have had a brain tumor while Best had another concussion that may sideline him for a long period of time. As much as we want to see the Lions lose we hate to see anybody in these circumstances. Godspeed, gentleman and our best for full and speedy recoveries.

This is the face of scary, Ndamuikong Suh

While  on the subject of the Lions Ndamukong  Suh has requested a personal audience with the Pope. NFL Commish Roger Goddell will entertain Suh to explain to him we he can’t keep yanking the earhole of a quarterback’s helmet over his nose. We get that football is a violent, collision sport. And we get that Suh is strong beyond description. It is his disregard for injury and Suh’s cavalier way that is disturbing. Suh’s primary defense has been he’s just too big, too strong, and too quick to quibble over such details as to whether or not he has just crippled someone.

We are even less enthralled with the Atlanta Falcon’s resident motormouth Roddy White who complained to the media over what Suh did or did not say over a fallen Matt Ryan. White has serious credibility issues when the replay shows that neither Suh nor Cliff Avril “…kicked at Ryan’s feet while he lay helpless on the ground…” Video doesn’t lie, Roddy. There was no evidence whatsoever of anyone kicking at Ryan. Were things said? Puh-LEEZ!! Back in the days of Tommy Nobis and Joe Schmidt and Ray Nitshcke and Dick Butkus someone popping off to the media like this would earn a belt in the chops later. Better hope the Falcons don’t have to face the Lions down the road. That one will be ugly.

Tom Brady... and the girls all faint

This just in… the Patriots aren’t invincible. Tom Terrific was contained by a Steeler D that had virtually none of its line backing corps and depended on a tight press man coverage scheme to limit Tom Brady’s ability to dink and dunk and get the ball in Wes Welker’s hands and have him run wild after the catch. The Steelers also showed how to beat the Pats to everyone else – keep Brady on the bench.  Big Ben did a masterful job of using his receivers, killing the clock, controlling the ball and tempo of the game and keeping Brady seated. That message has been heard loudly in Green Bay.

The Packer pass rush is still a concern. While GB is still top 10 in sacks and top 5 in picks the overall pass defense is still ranked near the bottom, right there with New England, a fact not lost on MM. Is that the sound of change or adaptation coming out of Lambeau?

Pam Anderson, and the guys go goofy

Of course complaining about the Packers pass rush right now is roughly akin to having a scantily clad in her prime Pamela Anderson standing readily before you and complaining about the mole on her back.

Everybody in America who is now looking forward to football for football’s sake on Thanksgiving Day raise your hand? Detroit has its annual turkey day blast, but unlike years past this game is going to be big. HUGE. Packers/ Lions Thanksgiving Day and the whole nation will turn out for the event. The Packers have become the refined, sophisticated polished assassins while the Lions come is a loud, bawdy, color wearing, and chain toting biker gang of thugs. The early battle to watch will be man child Suh up against Josh Sitton of the Packers who is every bit as nasty as Suh and as good a guard as Green Bay has seen in a long time. America - set your DVR.

Terrell Owens held a workout that was televised by the NFL Network. Not a single team showed from the NFL nor have any NFL offers been forthcoming. Color us surprised.

Hey buddy... can ya spare a few extra mill??
Chris Johnson carrying the hype

A CAUTIONARY TALE – Tennessee’s Chris Johnson has singlehandedly seriously diminished the bargaining power of any future running back in contract talks. After holding out for a megabucks megadeal Johnson, the fastest man in the NFL, has looked slow, tentative, unsure and at times just plain awful. His trademark explosion into and thru the hole is all but gone and at this point he certainly has not been worth 1/10^th the contract he so bitterly held out for. Don’t think for a second Johnson won’t be the poster boy held up in every team’s next dealings with their own backs.

Greg Jennings is one of the best possession receivers in the NFL and does not get near enough credit for that. There is nothing that Jennings does that is superlative. He’s not the biggest, the fastest or has the best hands among the elite. But when a crucial 3^rd down is needed he is money. You can set your watch by him – every year – 70 or so receptions/ 1,400 yards/ 10 TD’s. Money.

Speaking of money Terrell Owens was offered a contract to play in the Arena Football League at $400/ game. Our advice to TO is is take the money and run.

The two big contracts left for GM Ted Thompson after signing Jordy Nelson and Josh Sitton to long term deals are TE Jermichael Finley and backup QB Matt Flynn, who is arguably the hottest property not currently on the field. TT has consistently shown a willingness to reward past performance, and the signings of Nelson and Sitton speak volumes to the team. Not one to blow his dough on high priced free agents TT has built a team that wants to be here. Finley is just beginning to emerge as a star and may seek to be the focal point elsewhere, while Flynn loves Green Bay. Both will undoubtedly command much larger contracts than they currently are under and both are deserving of the raise. The emotional toll of a contract year is something the fan never sees as a player sits wondering where he will be next year. The game is easy. THAT’S pressure. Thompson has proven himself time and again in the face of his critics, and in Ted we trust. Here’s hoping both can be back for the long ride for the next several years.



Matt Flynn, hottest back up
in the NFL



Matt Flynn has the most difficult of personal dilemmas… does he stay in Green Bay to back up Aaron Rodgers in the only place he’s ever known in the NFL and loves knowing his team will always be in contention but he won’t see much of the field or does he go for the opportunity to play and garner the bigger dollars to a team that in all likelihood is going to try to build around him? With the dearth of quality quarterbacks Flynn IS a quality QB and a hot ticket, but what about the man himself? How much turmoil and torn emotions can that type of scenario create for such a young man? People tend to forget there is a person behind the face mask full of uncertainty and fear and swagger and bravado. As much as we want to see Flynn in Green Bay we also hope for Matt that whatever happens he is happy and things work out well for him.